30 research outputs found
On the tensor convolution and the quantum separability problem
We consider the problem of separability: decide whether a Hermitian operator
on a finite dimensional Hilbert tensor product is separable or entangled. We
show that the tensor convolution defined for certain mappings on an almost
arbitrary locally compact abelian group, give rise to formulation of an
equivalent problem to the separability one.Comment: 13 pages, two sections adde
Computing quantum discord is NP-complete
We study the computational complexity of quantum discord (a measure of
quantum correlation beyond entanglement), and prove that computing quantum
discord is NP-complete. Therefore, quantum discord is computationally
intractable: the running time of any algorithm for computing quantum discord is
believed to grow exponentially with the dimension of the Hilbert space so that
computing quantum discord in a quantum system of moderate size is not possible
in practice. As by-products, some entanglement measures (namely entanglement
cost, entanglement of formation, relative entropy of entanglement, squashed
entanglement, classical squashed entanglement, conditional entanglement of
mutual information, and broadcast regularization of mutual information) and
constrained Holevo capacity are NP-hard/NP-complete to compute. These
complexity-theoretic results are directly applicable in common randomness
distillation, quantum state merging, entanglement distillation, superdense
coding, and quantum teleportation; they may offer significant insights into
quantum information processing. Moreover, we prove the NP-completeness of two
typical problems: linear optimization over classical states and detecting
classical states in a convex set, providing evidence that working with
classical states is generically computationally intractable.Comment: The (published) journal version
http://iopscience.iop.org/1367-2630/16/3/033027/article is more updated than
the arXiv versions, and is accompanied with a general scientific summary for
non-specialists in computational complexit
Quantum Separability and Entanglement Detection via Entanglement-Witness Search and Global Optimization
We focus on determining the separability of an unknown bipartite quantum
state by invoking a sufficiently large subset of all possible
entanglement witnesses given the expected value of each element of a set of
mutually orthogonal observables. We review the concept of an entanglement
witness from the geometrical point of view and use this geometry to show that
the set of separable states is not a polytope and to characterize the class of
entanglement witnesses (observables) that detect entangled states on opposite
sides of the set of separable states. All this serves to motivate a classical
algorithm which, given the expected values of a subset of an orthogonal basis
of observables of an otherwise unknown quantum state, searches for an
entanglement witness in the span of the subset of observables. The idea of such
an algorithm, which is an efficient reduction of the quantum separability
problem to a global optimization problem, was introduced in PRA 70 060303(R),
where it was shown to be an improvement on the naive approach for the quantum
separability problem (exhaustive search for a decomposition of the given state
into a convex combination of separable states). The last section of the paper
discusses in more generality such algorithms, which, in our case, assume a
subroutine that computes the global maximum of a real function of several
variables. Despite this, we anticipate that such algorithms will perform
sufficiently well on small instances that they will render a feasible test for
separability in some cases of interest (e.g. in 3-by-3 dimensional systems)
Faithful Squashed Entanglement
Squashed entanglement is a measure for the entanglement of bipartite quantum
states. In this paper we present a lower bound for squashed entanglement in
terms of a distance to the set of separable states. This implies that squashed
entanglement is faithful, that is, strictly positive if and only if the state
is entangled. We derive the bound on squashed entanglement from a bound on
quantum conditional mutual information, which is used to define squashed
entanglement and corresponds to the amount by which strong subadditivity of von
Neumann entropy fails to be saturated. Our result therefore sheds light on the
structure of states that almost satisfy strong subadditivity with equality. The
proof is based on two recent results from quantum information theory: the
operational interpretation of the quantum mutual information as the optimal
rate for state redistribution and the interpretation of the regularised
relative entropy of entanglement as an error exponent in hypothesis testing.
The distance to the set of separable states is measured by the one-way LOCC
norm, an operationally-motivated norm giving the optimal probability of
distinguishing two bipartite quantum states, each shared by two parties, using
any protocol formed by local quantum operations and one-directional classical
communication between the parties. A similar result for the Frobenius or
Euclidean norm follows immediately. The result has two applications in
complexity theory. The first is a quasipolynomial-time algorithm solving the
weak membership problem for the set of separable states in one-way LOCC or
Euclidean norm. The second concerns quantum Merlin-Arthur games. Here we show
that multiple provers are not more powerful than a single prover when the
verifier is restricted to one-way LOCC operations thereby providing a new
characterisation of the complexity class QMA.Comment: 24 pages, 1 figure, 1 table. Due to an error in the published
version, claims have been weakened from the LOCC norm to the one-way LOCC
nor
One-and-a-half quantum de Finetti theorems
We prove a new kind of quantum de Finetti theorem for representations of the
unitary group U(d). Consider a pure state that lies in the irreducible
representation U_{mu+nu} for Young diagrams mu and nu. U_{mu+nu} is contained
in the tensor product of U_mu and U_nu; let xi be the state obtained by tracing
out U_nu. We show that xi is close to a convex combination of states Uv, where
U is in U(d) and v is the highest weight vector in U_mu. When U_{mu+nu} is the
symmetric representation, this yields the conventional quantum de Finetti
theorem for symmetric states, and our method of proof gives near-optimal bounds
for the approximation of xi by a convex combination of product states. For the
class of symmetric Werner states, we give a second de Finetti-style theorem
(our 'half' theorem); the de Finetti-approximation in this case takes a
particularly simple form, involving only product states with a fixed spectrum.
Our proof uses purely group theoretic methods, and makes a link with the
shifted Schur functions. It also provides some useful examples, and gives some
insight into the structure of the set of convex combinations of product states.Comment: 14 pages, 3 figures, v4: minor additions (including figures),
published versio
Separability criteria based on the Bloch representation of density matrices
15 pages, no figures.-- MSC2000 code: 81P68.MR#: MR2347059 (2008h:81016)Zbl#: Zbl 1152.81835We study the separability of bipartite quantum systems in arbitrary dimensions using
the Bloch representation of their density matrix. This approach enables us to find an
alternative characterization of the separability problem, from which we derive a necessary condition and sufficient conditions for separability. For a certain class of states the necessary condition and a sufficient condition turn out to be equivalent, therefore yielding a necessary and sufficient condition. The proofs of the sufficient conditions are constructive, thus providing decompositions in pure product states for the states that satisfy them. We provide examples that show the ability of these conditions to detect entanglement. In particular, the necessary condition is proved to be strong enough to detect bound entangled states.Financial support by Universidad Carlos III de Madrid and Comunidad Autónoma de Madrid (project No. UC3M-MTM-05-033) is gratefully acknowledged.Publicad